In a business enterprise, a significant number of projects may be underway in parallel (e.g., in a software development pipeline) at any given time. Over time, progress in or completion of each project may require personnel with specific skill sets and experience. For this reason, a project may be described as having a certain demand, in terms of human resources and skill sets. In order to ensure that demand will be met over the course of a given project, managers of projects assess what the specific demand is for their own project. In a large enterprise with significant numbers of projects in the development pipeline, assessing the overall demand and how to meet it is complex. Over time, demand may grow in such a way that it exceeds the available resources, i.e., the supply.
In an enterprise, the human resources available represent the supply to meet the above-described demand. The supply may comprise individuals grouped in various ways according to the skill sets of each individual. In any enterprise, the supply of human resources, and particularly of valuable skill sets, varies over time as new individuals are hired, existing employees voluntarily leave or are laid off, and individuals come and go from the enterprise as contract workers. Supply may be accounted for in units of hours or a number or percentage of Full Time Employees (“FTEs”).
Effectively balancing the demand and the supply of human resources, and predicting how each may be increased or decreased in the future as needed are challenging tasks. Software tools can facilitate the task of assessing and growth planning for supply and demand of human resources.